Princess Vaidehi – The Spy Bride

Age:19

She was never meant to love him—only to destroy him.

A royal bride with a secret mission.

Sent from the kingdom of Rajyagarh under the guise of a political alliance, Vaidehi is a trained spy—graceful, intelligent, and dangerously clever.

Trained from childhood to manipulate, steal, and disappear, Vaidehi enters the kingdom of Vanshala as a political bride, her true mission hidden beneath layers of silk and charm. With every jewel she steals, she comes closer to crippling his kingdom.

But she didn’t expect Prince Aaryan to be more dangerous than her mission—or that desire would turn to obsession.

> “Love is a weakness. So why does it hurt to lie to him?”

Prince Aaryan – The Golden Cage

Crown Prince of Vanshala

Age: Late 20s

Torn between duty to his kingdom and his obsession with the spy he was forced to marry

He was born to rule—but his heart is not his own. Prince Aaryan doesn’t rule with words—he rules with silence, presence, and fear. Crowned by blood and war, Aaryan grew up watching alliances shatter like glass and learning that trust is currency, and love is a weakness.

When Vaidehi arrives, sent by a rival kingdom as part of a “peaceful marriage,” he immediately suspects something is wrong.

But rather than confront her, he watches. Waits. Learns.

Drawn to her secrets like a moth to fire, his attraction spirals into control, possessiveness, and dangerous vulnerability.

And when he learns the truth, he must decide: punish her… or protect her from the world—even from himself.

And slowly… he begins to fall.

> “If you’re here to betray me, do it slowly. I want to feel every cut.”

Vishanya – The Poisoned Rose

Age:21

Deadly beauty. Loyal to no one.

Disguised as a royal dancer in the palace, Vishanya is the spy of a third kingdom—one that wants both Rajyagarh and Vanshala to fall

She dances with daggers in her smile.

A seductive spy from an unknown third kingdom, Vishanya has infiltrated the palace under the guise of a courtesan. She’s watching both sides, waiting to strike when the crown is weakest. She sees Vaidehi as a rival, and Aaryan as prey.

But what she truly wants is chaos—and she’ll burn both kingdoms to get it.

> “Loyalty is an illusion. Pleasure and power are all that remain.”

Samrat – The Fallen Blade

Age: 25

A shadow in the palace, loyal to none—except her.

Once a spy himself, Samrat now lives hidden among the palace servants.

He helps her because he remembers what it's like to be used.

Once a spy like Vaidehi, now a hidden ghost in the palace. Samrat aids her heists and hides her tracks—but not out of patriotism. He wants revenge on the crown, and Vaidehi is his last hope to bring it down.

But somewhere between loyalty and hatred, he starts caring for her—and that’s when things turn deadly.

> “You think you’re the only one wearing a mask? You were born into a war, Vaidehi. I'm just showing you the rules.”

The gem was warm in her hand now, as if it remembered the blood it had once drawn.

Princess Vaidehi stood at the edge of the marble court of Rajyagarh, her homeland. The final ruby of Vanshala—the Serpent’s Fang—glinted beneath her blood-stained veil. Her mission was complete. Her body was bruised, her soul exhausted, but she had done it.

She had stolen the soul of an empire.

And yet… no one smiled.

Her father, the king, sat on his throne like a stone god, eyes cold, mouth thin. Beside him, his ministers whispered like jackals. Vaidehi approached with pride stitched into every step. The ruby lay nestled in a silken pouch, placed before them like an offering to forgotten gods.

> “I did what no one else could,” she said softly. “The treasury is weakened. Vanshala will fall. I held his trust, and I bled him from the inside.”

The king (her father) did not move.

Then a slow clap echoed from the shadows behind the throne.

> “You did well, sister,” came a voice she hadn't heard in months.

Samrat. Her elder brother.

He stepped forward, draped in black robes, a smirk twisting his face. But there was no warmth in his eyes. Only calculation. Only hunger.

> “So well, in fact,” he said, “that we no longer need you.”

The world slowed. Her fingers curled at her side.

> “What do you mean?”

Samrat’s eyes glinted. “You served your purpose. You brought us the gem. But your... closeness to the prince? That was never part of the plan. Some say you went too far.”

> “No,” she whispered, stepping back. “You knew. You told me to get close to him.”

“Close enough to weaken him. Not close enough to look like a traitor.”

A soldier grabbed her from behind.

> “You dare touch a princess of Rajyagarh?” she hissed.

Samrat leaned close. “You’re not a princess anymore, Vaidehi. You’re a liability.”

In that moment, she realized—they had never planned to let her live.

They dragged her through the palace corridors like a dog, her silks torn, her braid unraveling, her dignity bleeding out of her eyes.

They threw her into the underground prison—a cell made of stone and silence. Her anklets clattered against the cold floor. The guards didn't speak. She didn't cry. She had wept all her tears the night she left Vanshala.

Hours passed. Or days. Time blurred like fever.

And just when she thought it would end in darkness—

The door exploded.

Dust and fire. Screaming metal. The guards dropped like leaves in a storm.

And through the smoke, he walked in.

Prince Aaryan of Vanshala.

Sword drawn. Blood on his knuckles. Fire in his eyes.

> “You stole from me,” he said, voice low, steady. “You lied to me. You poisoned my kingdom.”

She pushed herself up with shaking arms.

> “So what are you doing here?” she croaked.

He stepped closer, gaze fixed on her like she was both curse and cure.

> “Because you were never mine to lose... and yet I still came for you.”

She had seen him furious before. Had seen the quiet rage in his eyes when he learned of her betrayal.

But this? This was something else.

> “How did you find me?” she asked.

> “Because I watched the way you flinched every time someone mentioned your brother,” he said. “Because I memorized the sound of your voice when you lied to me. Because I couldn’t sleep after you left.”

Her throat tightened.

> “You should kill me,” she whispered.

He tilted her chin up with his blade—not roughly, but just enough to make her heart race.

> “I might,” he said. “But not tonight.”

He pulled her up into his arms like she weighed nothing.

> “You belong to a kingdom that betrayed you. But I’m still deciding what you’ll be to me.”

And in that moment, as her head rested against the shoulder of the man she had destroyed, Vaidehi realized the war had only just begun.

Not the one between kingdoms—

But the one inside their hearts.

(Flashback – )

The scent of rosewater clung to the air like a warning.

Vaidehi sat in the bridal chamber, her face hidden beneath a veil of crimson silk. Her hands trembled slightly under layers of gold and henna, though no one would notice—not with all the jewels weighing her down. She looked like a goddess carved in rubies.

But she wasn’t a bride. She was a weapon.

And tonight, her mission began.

The doors creaked open.

She didn’t need to lift her veil to feel his presence.

Prince Aaryan.

He walked in like the room belonged to him. And it did.

Tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in deep maroon robes with golden thread trailing along his chest. His jaw was sharp enough to wound, lips set in a near-scowl that somehow made women want to touch him just to see if he could smile.

But it was the eyes that made Vaidehi’s breath falter.

Dark. Intense. Like he’d already undressed every lie she wore.

> “So,” he said, voice like warm smoke, “you’re the gift Rajyagarh sends in exchange for peace.”

His words weren’t kind—but neither was the curl at the edge of his lips.

She kept her head lowered. "And you’re the crown I’m chained to."

A silence. Dangerous. Delicious.

> “Careful, Princess,” he said, stepping closer. “Chains can be gold… or iron. You don’t know which one you’ve got yet.”

His voice was low, almost amused. But she could feel the tension in his body. The power. Like a lion pacing just behind the curtain.

He circled her once, his steps slow, deliberate.

> “You wear red beautifully,” he murmured behind her ear. “You look like fire. But do you burn?”

Her heart stuttered.

This wasn’t what she expected. She was prepared for arrogance, indifference, maybe even cruelty. But not this.

Not a prince who made her feel like prey and desire at the same time.

She lifted her chin finally, letting her veil fall back ever so slightly. Just enough to meet his eyes.

> “Only when touched the wrong way,” she said.

Aaryan didn’t flinch. If anything, his eyes darkened.

> “Then I’ll be careful,” he said, though the look he gave her promised the exact opposite.

Later, when the sacred fire cracked between them and the mantras echoed through the marble courtyard, Vaidehi stood beside him as the priests tied their hands with silk. The crowd cheered. The alliance was sealed.

But beneath the chanting, she felt the heat of his fingers against hers.

They weren’t soft.

They were calloused. Strong. A swordsman’s hands.

And when he leaned close to whisper, the world slowed again.

> “Whatever game you’re playing,” he said, voice only for her, “just remember… I enjoy chasing what tries to run.”

Her breath caught.

For the first time, she wondered if the hunter… might become the hunted.

That night, in the grand chamber filled with petals and incense, he didn’t touch her. Not properly. Not yet.

He poured her wine with his bare hands. Took off his royal rings one by one. Watched her from across the room with the patience of a king who could wait—but never forget.

And when she finally turned away to unpin her veil, his voice found her again.

> “You sleep on my side of the bed tonight,” he said softly.

> “Why?” she asked, without looking.

> “So I’ll know if you try to disappear.”

There was no threat in his tone. Just curiosity. Hunger. Something darker than desire.

She obeyed.

Vaidehi lay on the edge of the royal bed, staring at the gilded ceiling of her new prison.

But that night, Vaidehi barely slept.

Because the man beside her never truly closed his eyes.

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